Military Muscle: 5 mistakes that can wreck your fitness program - Military Off Duty, Army Health, military fitness, army physical fitness - Army Times

Military Muscle: 5 mistakes that can wreck your fitness program

When designing a fitness program, most people don’t take the proper time to think through a routine and consider not only exercise placement but also exercise applicability and correct mechanics of specific exercises.

They also fail to consider the importance of outside-the-gym issues that affect their fitness.

Being a trainer or a high-level competitive athlete does not make a person immune from committing these errors that we’ve all been guilty of at one time or another:

1. Focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses. We all like to do what we do best. Ask yourself this: How do I improve my “game” — a less-developed muscle, overall strength, fitness, speed, etc.? Is the majority of my practice or workout based around what I am good at or enjoy? Strong legs and glutes are the pillars of functional power, but most folks in the gym prefer to flex their big arms and chests. Everyone is working the bench press to work the big guns.

2. Not making required nutritional changes. You can have the best program in the world, but failing to make nutritional changes will hijack your fitness faster than anything else. It can be difficult, but you must look for opportunities to reduce processed foods and keep your fat intake to below 30 percent of total calories.

3. Performing high-power movements late in the workout. I’ve seen routines that have exercises to increase power, vertical height and other explosive functions placed toward the back end of a workout, but it’s hard to improve in these areas when the muscles are fatigued. And fatigue will lead to poor technique, when correct technique is the key to getting better.

4. Knees tracking inside the foot on leg exercises. This is especially true for squats and jumps, and women should take particular note. Have someone check your knee position next time you execute any leg exercise. If you don’t concentrate on keeping your knees in line, you’ll add stress to the knee area and have knee issues. I’ve never seen a woman’s knees track outside the foot.

5. Increasing run volume to get a better time on a fitness test. Running longer does not equate to running faster; it only equates to running longer. You can’t go faster without going fast. Over the past six years, people have come to me for a program to lower their run time on the 1½-, 2- or 3-mile run. The longest distance in my program is a mile, and we do lots of 800- and 300-meter runs, all at high speed. Leg turnover increases, and everyone’s time goes down.

This week’s nutrition tip

Swap ¾ cup of honey for each cup of sugar, and one-for-one applesauce for oil.

Bob Thomas is director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. Click here to email him.